We promote and integrate sustainability considerations into our decisions, operations and practices. We seek to make contributions to society by leveraging the HKMA’s position as a central banking institution and a responsible corporate citizen.
Governance
The HKMA has integrated sustainability governance into its management framework. The CSR & Sustainability Committee (CSC) steers the HKMA’s development and implementation of sustainability strategies.
Our Approach to a Sustainable Organisation
Our approach to sustainability is underpinned by three pillars: Environment, People and Social Responsibility. Our strategic directions under each of the three pillars are detailed below:
To reinforce the HKMA’s commitment to run our operations in a sustainable manner, we have drawn up a roadmap to realise our sustainability vision. You can find more details about the roadmap including our climate targets, strategies, along with our existing pledges for staff’s wellness and community care on this webpage.
Climate targets
Building on our ongoing green office initiatives, the HKMA aims to achieve net-zero in Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 31 (business air travel) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all areas of its corporate operations by 2050 or earlier.
As its near-term emissions reduction targets, the HKMA plans to eliminate Scope 1 emissions completely through transitioning all its existing vehicles to electric vehicles, and by implementing decarbonisation strategies and through removal of emissions methods, such as procuring renewable energy certificates, to reduce Scope 2 emissions by 63% by 2030, using 2015 as the base year.
The above long-term and near-term emissions reduction targets are set with reference to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) methodology. These levels of reduction align with the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
In addition, while there are challenges in determining Scope 3 emissions, the HKMA will endeavour to minimise GHG emissions from various sources that are included within Scope 3 emissions, such as paper consumption, waste and business air travel, as far as practicable. Travel emissions will be removed or offset, where appropriate, from 2023 onwards.
As we take measures to prevent, reduce or eliminate sources of GHG emissions, we will report our GHG emissions on a regular basis. In this regard, we have appointed Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency to verify the HKMA’s target setting approach and emissions data.
To deliver on our commitments, our decarbonisation strategies include:
Find out more about the HKMA’s carbon profile, energy, paper consumption and non-hazardous waste intensity over a five-year period from 2017 to 2021 on pages 195-196 of the Sustainability chapter in the 2021 Annual Report.
Marketplace support
The HKMA is making its best efforts to promote an environmentally friendly marketplace, by advocating measures that enhance operational efficiency and minimise resource consumption for both the HKMA and the financial industry:
1 As defined by the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard
Our staff are valuable assets of the HKMA. We promote work-life balance and seek to foster a healthy and inclusive workplace that enhances staff’s well-being. We value every employee’s opinion and provide various communication tools for staff to offer their advice and express concerns.
Wellness Office Our office features an open layout that increases capacity and space efficiency. Measures to improve staff health and productivity are also implemented. |
Staff well-being Championing both physical and mental health, we organise seminars on healthy lifestyles, stress management and workplace safety, arrange medical check-ups, flu vaccinations and fitness activities, as well as sponsor personal counselling services. |
Training and Development We offer both vertical (job-specific) and horizontal (general) skills training to develop our staff’s capabilities to meet operational needs and career progression, and to enhance their adaptability to new challenges. |
Equal Opportunities and Diversity We value diversity in our workforce. We believe that everyone should be able to work in an environment free of discrimination, harassment, vilification, and victimisation. |
In fulfilling our social responsibility, we look beyond the immediate corporate boundaries to upstream and downstream sectors to broaden our impacts.
Sustainable Procurement
Our sustainable procurement policy embeds environmental, social and economic considerations, covering electrical appliances, printing paper, equipment, building services and products for interior use. We place high emphasis on supply chain risk management. We assess a supplier’s profile and product, including its business ethics and labour practices. We engage with social enterprises, including them on our list of local vendors.
Volunteer and Charitable Activities
We are committed to giving back to the communities by encouraging our staff to participate in volunteer and charity work. We partner with various community organisations to address community causes. Examples of how our staff bring positive impact to our communities can be found on pages 201-203 of the Sustainability Chapter of the 2021 Annual Report.
Community Engagement and Public Education
We actively run various community engagement and education initiatives through various channels to promote smart and responsible use of banking and financial services, as well as to help the public, particularly the young generation, to understand the developments and career opportunities in the financial industry in Hong Kong.
Advocating Financial Inclusion
To promote financial inclusion in Hong Kong, we work closely with the banking industry to enhance access to basic banking services by different segments of society.
Find out more about the principles and recommended good practices set out in the industry guidelines for banks on banking services for people with physical, visual and hearing impairments, intellectual impairment and dementia on the webpage of the Hong Kong Association of Banks.
![]() |
![]() |
|
Gold certification |
Caring Organisation for 16 Years Plus |
Gold rating |